Daylilies...how do I kill orange ditch lilies??

So do you think the person who originally posed the question on ditch lillies is still reading? I am. I do not think I have learned so much in any one thread on this site.

Invasive species....If ever I suggest a plant to someone in the US could you please feel free to mention it is a bad choice if you know something I do not. I know what is invasive here but I cannot speak for over there.

Now to organic gardening practices...I have never used Neem oil, nor have I used Roundup or any glyphosate based herbicide. My idea of 'organic' gardening is minimal interference with nature. I try to learn about every plant I grow before it goes in the ground. What soil it needs, what light requirements, what nutrients. Whether there is a good companion plant. What predators look like so that I can set them onto the pests. A healthy plant will need no treatments. I also graft. I will spend as much time as it takes to remove an invasive, unwanted plant from my garden rather than throw chemicals at it. I am at an advantage I know. I only have a small plot, not acres and acres so I can understand that some will use more aggressive methods but I do feel that I am doing my bit just like Grey. I cannot justify the use of cides so I don't use them simple as that.

Invasive species....If ever I suggest a plant to someone in the US could you please feel free to mention it is a bad choice if you know something I do not. I know what is invasive here but I cannot speak for over there.

Well, since you insist... just kidding because I try my best to comment but sometimes I just can't no matter how hard I want to so I rap my own knuckles with a ruler and if the urge to comment persists I duct tape my fingers together then move onto the next thread.

I think the big difference is that smaller properties are considerably more manageable relying upon mechanical and "non-cide" practices. My property is slightly over 2 hectares. I can generally handle the vast majority of invasives and noxious weeds by myself without having to resort to using those "cides" that concern all of us. Sadly, the wilds are taking the biggest hits as more and more exotic plants escape cultivation and that is why some really tough decisions are being made in the best interests of public health. Again, "Sometimes, the best that can be hoped for is that we come out ahead when the score is tallied." The example of 40,000 acres of Knapweed was not an exaggeration. That knapweed is out there and it's reproducing at an unprecedented rate while everyone screws around trying to figure out what the heck to do about it based on best science while factoring in limited resources. That's 40,000 acres of infested land which to you would be around 16,200 hectares. Does that help put it in perspective? Scary, very scary. It's the little people like you and me who are going to make a difference providing we think globally while acting locally.

Experience is great. I am quite giggly about the fact that I, the high school drop out, knows more about propagating and managing native plant communities than the PhD. who heads my department. My watercolour teacher knows more about native plants than PhD guy does. But PhD guys PhD. is in woody plants, wherein he absolutely and totally blows me out the door vis a vis their identification, care, and management. That's my shrub ID class.

In my Horticulture 101 class, I'm just now studying stuff like cells, parts of plants and their sub parts and how they work. It was an area very lacking in my knowledge of plants, though I always had a vague idea from high school biology classes.

Fun fact: Potatoes are not tubers. They are underground stems. The eyes are the nodes. The other stuff is the inter-nodes, LOL!

However, <b>there's a whole lot to be said for book learnin',</b> LOL!

I only use 1 "cide" and that is Round-UP, because I'm trying to do a wet mesic prairie restoration in my back yard. I use it minimally, and very specifically targeted to very specific individual plants...Canada Goldenrod. Even with our late spring...they are already starting to sprout.

Even though Canada Goldenrod is native...it is a very aggressive native plant, and since I have such a small space(500 sf), I cannot afford to let it run amok.

Yes, I have goldenrod and to keep it at bay each fall when I prune it to the ground, I dig out some of the spreaded wood and the associated roots. It's a beautiful plant that attracts all sorts of beneficial insects but, you have to watch it as you need to watch mint or it will take over.

The trouble I have found with cutting and re-cutting aggressive goldenrods is that it causes the root stock to send up even more suckers, thereby doubling or quintupling the work to keep it under control. It is really hard to prune your way out of trouble...I've seen 2" high Queen Anne's Lace blossom, after it had been cut and re-cut, LOL!.

Ohio goldenrod is a nice alternative...non-suckering. A valuable wildlife food. And very showy. I planted a bunch that I grew from seed last year. Hopefully, the will be able to push out the weedy stuff.

Daylilies early sprout photos

Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:40 pm

Does anyone have a picture of an early growth/sprout of a daylily? I want to dig the little suckers out before they start to get big.

I dug a bunch of something up and the rootballs were huge, like 1 square foot of intertwined solid bricks of root. Pretty sure they were the ditch lilies, but now I have similar sprouts coming up in an area that they weren't in last year so they must have spread.[/img]

Re: Killing Hemerocallis

1. All chemicals should be used exactly as directed on the label. adding more chemical to a mix will not help the problem, but can cause lots more issues.

2. RoundUp is a great product for converting scrub or grassland for gardens.

3. Roundup is NOT safe after 24 hours, I spent a whole day trying to save my dog who walked into an area I sprayed at least 24 hours before, the vet said I was lucky I noticed the symptoms in time. (he survived)

4. I have 2 commercial spray licenses, so I know of what I speak.

The last time I fought the dreaded orange lily, I had a backhoe come and dig 2 feet down and 3 feet outside the area and haul them far away, I had a huge mass covering half of my front lawn. Now I fight the battle again as my new house has a yard full, ugh.

Okay, this may sound crazy and may be more trouble than it's worth. But you could take your "lemons" and make "lemonaide". What I mean by that is that a lot of county fairs will be starting up soon. You could dig these plants up, put them into cheap plastic pots and sell them for $1.00 each at local your county fair. Of course you will want to advertise them as Day Lilly (Hemerocallis fulva). But you never know. Maybe you'll make enough money to reseed that part of your lawn.

Orange Lily

Tue Jul 10, 2012 11:58 pm

I have hated these awful plants since I was a kid, my mom used to make us pick them for my Irish Grandfather, he was not amsued.To me they are a weed, and I believe they are on the list of noxious weeds in my province, to be irradicated on sight.

I had a hard time finding a place to buy ditch lily's (I happen to love them) and finally found some on E-bay. I paid $28 for 20 VERY small roots, most a quarter of the size of my little finger. For those trying to get rid of them - do think about selling them. I've grown them for years and with a good barrier they haven't spread out of their space. They are not terrible plants, just take care where you plant them. They are perfect for difficult areas that are hard to water ar care for and once they fill in they are practially weed free. Just be sure you get a barrier in that is at least 8 inches deep. That has kept mine corraled for 13 years.

Yeah, I also like the orange daylilies. I have them in two flower beds. I have to thin them out every year to keep them from completely filling the beds. But the beds have edging around them, including under the soil, and the daylilies have never spread outside of the flower beds and they don't pop up anywhere else. So they seem quite manageable to me.

Re: Daylilies...how do I kill orange ditch lilies??

Mon Feb 20, 2017 12:58 am

Try eating them. You will change your mind about about wishing them harm. They are the finest greens to be had. And the flowers/buds are divine, raw or sautéed or mixed into your summer salads. Harvest greens when 6 to 8 inches tall. Cut them off 1/2" below soil level. Pick flower buds the day before they open. Entire plant is not only edible but delicious.